I have a friend in Los Angeles I work with a lot that does remix stuff for a lot of big artists and we collaborated on that a bit. I re-sang it and we did some cool vocal stuff to it. I think the fans will really like it. It’s more of a fun and more optimistic pop version of Answers– it’s not as dark. It’s nice though, because the song is so popular, to be able to give people different versions of it.

Today on the Square Enix blog, Final Fantasy XV Director Hajime Tabata made a post talking about some of the free updates that will be making their way to Final Fantasy XV.

First on the list are changes to Chapter 13- which among other enhancements, will include a boost to the magic power of the ring that players acquire.

In addition, Tabata goes on to say that they want to dive deeper into the story and give new insight into the motivations of certain characters, particularly Ravus. All of these scenes will need to be localized and voiced so they could take some time.

For the long term, Tabata mentions they’re looking at making certain key characters playable in the game, and possibly the introduction of avatars that you can customize.

Additionally, they’re looking at giving players the chance to carry over stats from previous playthroughs, and adding items that introduce new play-styles like low-level runs or god mode. Increased font size options will are also in the works for some languages.

The team is also looking at new content that can be enjoyed in real-time such as new bosses with exclusive rewards and achievements and limited-time hunts.

The above are mentioned as being part of free updates and not in-fact, included into the season pass, which has already been announced and detailed.

A game getting patches isn’t anything new. A game with special limited time content isn’t anything new either for that matter. What really bothers me with this news is the fact that the team is looking to add new narrative scenes into the game that they apparently felt were needed. The game has been in development for so long, and then delayed right before its final release so that the final game printed on disc would be one that Tabata and the FFXV team were happy with. Then, with the Crown Update, they patch in scenes from the Kingsglaive film (some of which were originally shown as being in the game itself back in the day) to help explain the narrative further. Now, again, they’re talking about how they’re going to add new narratives to further explain things.

On one hand, part of me can appreciate that they see there are gaps that need to be filled, and they’re looking to take care of them. On the other side of that however, I can’t read this without thinking that the game that hundreds of thousands of people have been picking up over the past week is still unfinished.

Are you looking forward to these patches? Are you going to want to replay the game to see these additions in the narrative? Let us know in the comments below!

It’s certainly no secret that players the world over have been waiting a long time for Final Fantasy Versus XIII… I mean, Final Fantasy XV. After skipping an entire console generation, the game has finally released to eager fans who have been waiting, building years of expectations, to see what the final product would be.

So let’s finally dive into Final Fantasy XV and see what all these years of development have ultimately given us!

Setting and Story

Final Fantasy XV revolves around Noctis and his three friends (who also happen to be his personal guards) as they set out to see Noctis married to lady Lunafreya. Of course, things are never that simple and while he’s away the empire of Nifelheim invades Insomnia- the capital of the Kingdom of Lucis and Noctis’ home.

After the opening sequence and progressing the main story a bit, players become free to take on sidequests for characters, take on Hunts for the locals to slay monsters, or simply go and explore the world and find hidden dungeons or fishing spots. Many people have heard that the game is open world- sadly, that statement isn’t entirely true. There are several locales in Final Fantasy XV and only one of them, Lucis, is a large open space. A friend put it best- Final Fantasy XV is kind of like a reverse Final Fantasy XIII. The game starts in a large open space, but then becomes linear. You have this large area to explore and do sidequests in, but after a certain point, the main story takes you elsewhere, and never comes back. (Shortly after leaving however, you’re given a way to return so that you can continue doing sidequests in Lucis).

That takes us into the story itself. This game has been in the works for a long time, we know that many things have changed, such as the removal of certain characters that were seen in original footage of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Additionally, even scenes that were shown in trailers after the game’s name change to FFXV have disappeared. To make matters even worse, the game relies on outside media such as Kingsglaive and Brotherhood to help explain elements of the narrative. Further troubling to the narrative is the fact that there are scenes that appeared in older trailers for Versus XIII or FFXV which apparently ended up being cut from the game so they could be used for Kingsglaive. The day one “Crown Update” then went and added some scenes from Kingsglaive back into the game they were originally taken out of to help better explain the narrative. Wow.

For a game that has been in development as long as Final Fantasy XV, one would hope that the story would be more solid and cohesive than it actually turned out to be. It has some great, cinematic moments, but the story is short and doesn’t give you enough time to care about anyone that isn’t riding in the Regalia with you.

Battle

Final Fantasy XV marks the first time that a main entry in the series has moved into a completely action based battle system, and for the most part, it works well. What really hinders the system however is the camera and a lack of precise targeting (which is important when some monsters can have specific parts of their body targeted to have things like horns broken off).

For those that don’t like things as fast paced as traditional action based games, Final Fantasy XV offers a “Wait Mode” battle system opion. In this mode, when when you stop moving, will freeze time, allowing you to get a better idea of your surroundings and give you time to think of your next action. I used Wait Mode for a short time and quite frankly it seems like a poorly implemented mess. Doing Libra scans to reveal enemy weaknesses can sometimes take a good thirty seconds or longer- if time has already stopped, why do I need to sit there and hold the trigger for that long? My confusion of the Wait Mode is further increased by the fact that it has its own section on the Ascension grid (explained later). Something about it just feels off to me.

During battle, you can hold down R1 to lock onto an enemy, however this lock doesn’t always seem to stay “locked”. As you move around, its quite possible that something else might be targeted, or if you teleport to a nearby Warp-point, you may lose the target altogether. On that note, when you have Noctis teleport to a warp-point, the camera will often times cause you to lose sight of your target altogether, requiring you to re-adjust the camera manually to look at the battle you just warped from. Wait Mode is not available while hanging via most warp-points, leaving enemies plenty of time to catch back up to you- which is especially irritating if the point of using the warp-point was to give yourself a moment to think out your next move. Targeting these warp-points is also difficult and often require you to be close enough and have the camera facing a very specific point. In addition, either going off warp-points or attack from the ground, I’ve gone to hit R1 to target an enemy to carry out a warp strike attack and it doesn’t actually target the enemy, so Noctis simply teleports a few feet in front of himself. For an action based battle system, I don’t think having to constantly take time to confirm you’re locked onto an enemy or a warp-point is something that should be needed.

Gladio, Ignis and Prompto can be instructed to carry out special techniques by filling up a three section tech bar. Depending on the tech you select, one, two, or three parts of the bar will be consumed. During my time with the game, I’ve found that it’s important to make sure you’re somewhat close to the enemies you’re trying to target with techniques. I’ve had Gladio start to run up towards the enemy, only to get caught on a wall or a rock and then simply do his attack without hitting anything.

Another special ability at your disposal during battle is the Armiger, which most of you will know as “that cool thing where all those weapons float around Noctis. During battle you can summon the Armiger and just go nuts on the enemies until the gauge depletes. At the end, you have an opportunity to do a final attack with it by pressing the L1 and R1 buttons together, however on many occasions, I’ve found that the timing of this final strike and that button press is so incredibly picky that I’ve been unable to execute it.

During the game, Noctis will encounter several Astrals (known as summons, avatars, primals etc.). When certain battle conditions have been met, Noctis has the ability to summon one of the Astrals. The summon that follows is dependent on your geographical location in the game (you can’t have Titan throw a boulder at you when you’re underground in a dungeon). I absolutely love the awesome, awe-inspiring and sometimes gigantic scale of the Astrals in Final Fantasy XV. Regardless of their size, their attacks leave an incredible effect on the environment for a few moments before retreating, which really helps to show off how much power they truly have.

Last but not least we have magic. In Final Fantasy XV, you collect magic from the world around you either by drawing it from element points scattered around Eos, or by absorbing elemental energies off of monsters you attack with certain weapons. After acquiring charges of the various elements, you have to then combine them and add them into a magic flask- items that can hold one spell. These flasks, which are acquired as you play the game, will allow you to hold multiple spells at once (though the amount of an element you can hold will always remain at 99) When making your magic spells, You can add all of one element, or you can choose to combine Thunder, Fire and Ice into one spell. The more of each element you use, the higher the potency of the spell becomes, and can upgrade the their of the spell itself (Fire>Fira etc) After selecting your elements, you can then decide to add an item into the mix. By adding an item into the crafted spell you can add extra effects to a spell. By adding one item, you might be able to create a Thundara spell that also boosts the EXP earned in battle, or you could make Blizzard that has a chance to poison enemies. Some items will also increase the amount of charges a spell gets. Once the spell is created, it’s kept in a magic flask and you can throw it at enemies in battle. Unfortunately, the one downside of using magic in battle is huge: friendly fire. Any time you use a spell, you’re party members will be hit in the crossfire if they’re in the target area.

The more I spent time with the battle system, the more I came to understand and get a feel for it. I’ve come to really enjoy it. However, magic and Armiger annoyances aside, the camera and targeting issues can make a fight go from fun and enjoyable to “throw controller at the TV” levels of frustrating- especially in small spaces.

Gameplay

When you start out in Lucis, you’re accompanied by your three friends and your car, the Regalia. The Regalia is an important part of the game, serving as your main mode of transportation for the majority of the game. As you explore Lucis and beyond, you’ll be able to purchase things for the Regalia like selected soundtracks from previous Final Fantasy titles, or stickers (some full body stickers giving the entire car a unique look, or smaller decals like various FF series creatures, racing stripes etc). Some stores will even have car upgrades that can do things like increase the Regalia’s speed or fuel performance.

Later in the game, the Regalia can be upgraded into the Regalia Type F, which lets you take it to the skies. The first time taking off with my car was really great, even if fast traveling to locations is quicker, it’s great to be able to fly up into the air and see the entirety of Lucis. However, this fun and enjoyment is easily taken away by the fact that you can crash your car when taking off (don’t be like me and take off right into a light pole) or when landing if you don’t slow down and land well. If you crash the Type F you’re greeted with a Game Over screen. This turns something like the Type F, which I initially viewed as a cool reward, and turns it into an annoyance. I’ve also found that the full body stickers I’ve gotten, don’t work with the Type F because of the slight body change- shame.

Leveling up via EXP is fairly easy in Final Fantasy XV. You can make spells that boost your experience points earned, get food that increases your EXP gained, and to top it all off, staying at a hotel will even add a multiplier to your EXP before it cashes it in with one hotel offering a 3x multiplier. The real leveling of Final Fantasy XV is done with its Ascension system which is an almost sphere-grid like system where you have a board for different things like stats, combat, magic etc. Ascension points can be earned when leveling, rewarded from quests, or if you’ve cashed them in on specific spots on the Ascension grid, you can receive them from long car rides, chocobo rides and other activities. The AP (Ascenion Point) grind is incredibly real, with some spaces at the end of a path requiring up to 999 AP to redeem.

At the end of the day, Final Fantasy XV is a great first step into an open world action RPG. However, its various systematic issues and poor story hold it back. Recent news coming from Square Enix saying that future patches for the title will help improve the narrative makes me wonder if they truly feel they shipped a complete game, but for what I’ve played at release with the Crown Update, I’ve enjoyed my time, and am curious to see what kind of changes they’ll make in the months to come.

We were provided with a copy of this title on PlayStation 4 by Square Enix for review purposes.

Vivi and Miroku talk about the November, October, and September version updates, the recent Twitch livestream, and the big crafting changes coming.

You can e-mail us at petfoodbeta@gamerescape.com or hit us up on Twitter @petfoodbeta.

]]>http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/28/pet-food-beta-28-and-were-back/feed/0Vivi and Miroku talk about the November, October, and September version updates, the recent Twitch livestream, and the big crafting changes coming. - You can e-mail us at petfoodbeta@gamerescape.com or hit us up on Twitter @petfoodbeta.Vivi and Miroku talk about the November, October, and September version updates, the recent Twitch livestream, and the big crafting changes coming.
You can e-mail us at petfoodbeta@gamerescape.com or hit us up on Twitter @petfoodbeta.Gamer Escapeno44:31FFXIV Contest For Knowledge Answershttp://gamerescape.com/2016/11/27/ffxiv-contest-for-knowledge-answers/
http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/27/ffxiv-contest-for-knowledge-answers/#commentsSun, 27 Nov 2016 05:52:28 +0000http://gamerescape.com/?p=41783

The results of the Contest for Knowledge are in, and the winners have been contacted by email! Wondering how you did? Read on for a full breakdown of the correct answers, explanations, and how well each question went overall!

The statistics are actually rather interesting considering feedback about the difficulty was all over the place (just like a real quiz!). Average and median scores hovered right around 70% (just like a real quiz!), with a tie between the most frequent being 10 and 11 out of a possible 14. Amusingly, only one of the three questions that I considered tricky actually had less than 50% correct answers, yet two others went pretty far off the rails.

But lets get down to brass tacks!

A grand total of 581 people took part, and of those 21 got a perfect score. Pat yourself on the back for knowing some and/or all of the Eorzean things! As you can see from the breakdown above, quite a few of you knew most of the answers! But let’s go ahead and break it down question by question.

1) Who is the father of modern naturalism in Eorzea?

Centuries ago, Frandelont Raimdelle dedicated his life to the traveling of Eorzea and the classifying of all the things he encountered into a seminal work known as the Raimdelle Codex. The foundations carved out by this naturalist remain sturdy to this day, with updated copies of his magnum opus serving institutions from the Trappers’ League of Gridania to the academics of Sharlayan.

Lewphon was a Sharlayan scholar responsible for revolutionizing the measurement of time in Sixth Astral Era Eorzea, weaving together the disparate histories of her cultures with this common thread. Rammbroes, once a member of the Circle of Knowing, is an anthropogeographer leading Sons of Saint Coinach and the dig in Mor Dhona. Erik is a renowned, if pompous, professor of military history involved in the Monk story arc.

2) Which of Limsa Lominsa’s active pirate crews is considered the most powerful?

The Bloody Executioners are captained by One-eyed Hyllfyr, the undisputed lord of the pirate underworld, and wield a power and influence second only to Chief Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn, herself. In recent days, Hyllfyr has withdrawn as a result of age and (according to rumors) ill health, and the structure of the Executioners has begun to fragment as the topic of succession becomes more heated.

It will take more than this infighting, however, to bring the Executioners below the Krakens’ Arms under Carvallain, thriving as “completely legal” privateers, and the Sanguine Sirens under Rhoswen, struggling to accept the new status quo as their wealth dwindles. The League of Lost Bastards once flourished under captain Bloefhis (and later his daughter, Merlwyb), rivaling the strength of even the great pirate king, Mistbeard. These days, however, both have greater concerns…

The count is the head of a high house’s affairs, seeing that his bannermen fulfill their duties to the Holy See in a way that brings honor and glory to the house and its allies.

Barons have been mentioned, but fall below the count. Bishops are members of the clergy, which, though respected in the Holy See, do not equate to leaders of the high houses. Dukes would outrank counts… if only those were things.

5) Lahabrea is associated with which number?

Ascians in service to Lahabrea bear names such as Ascian of the Twelfth Sword and Ascian of the Twelfth Chalice. This association with the number twelve was inherited from Ivalice, where Lahabrea (and his dark opposite, Mateus) were associated with the zodiac sign of Pisces and the element of Ice.

This is one of the ones I thought might be tricky, as it is much more salient fact that Lahabrea is from our world, the Source, and not one of the thirteen reflections; zero and fourteen would thus be sensible guesses.

6) You didn’t already forget the name of the moogle that bravely led you to Zenith again, did you?

If you’re caught up with the main scenario, this question might have seemed familiar; you were asked it in Patch 3.3. Why did I ask it again? Because it broke his little heart if you got it wrong. You didn’t let him down, did you?

…I see, kupo. Then I suppose our time around the campfire meant less to you than I thought it did. It’s “Moghan,” by the way… <sniff>

Chieftain Moglin, who Moghan regards as an overstuffed throne-warmer, currently leads Moghome in the Churning Mists. Kuplo Kopp is of the Twelveswood moogles, a dedicated ally of Gridania who warned of Good King Moggle Mog XII’s summoning and later served as ambassador to the moogles in the sky.

7) Who lead(s) the VIth Legion of the Garlean Imperial Army?

The VIth legion is led by Legatus Regula van Hydrus.

Nael van Darnus was legatus of the VIIth in Version 1.0. Solus zos Galvus was the previous emperor, Varis zos Galvus is the former high legatus / current emperor, and Zenos yae Galvus is the legatus of the XIIth Imperial Legion and viceroy of Ala Mhigo.

8) Gerolt **claims** that his greatest ambition is to…

Those asterisks are super important. I knew this one might be tricky, but less than 50% of participants answered correctly (still a majority, though).

Gerolt is on a Triple Triad card, but doesn’t seem to do any playing himself. You can’t even challenge him to a duel (YET!?). He also doesn’t claim that Rowena is anything to him but a “thrice-damned harridan.” The two were once married, and it seems that both still wonder what might have been, but they’re far from admitting it.

No, Gerolt spends his days mending kettles in a futile effort to pay off tavern debts that rise faster than fall, currently totaling over one hundred million gil. Even the greatest of his kettles was designed as part of a grand scheme to pay off this burden and restore his good name. Moreover, there certainly doesn’t seem to be a rivalry with the master goldsmith Godbert Manderville over it.

9) Cid’s airship is called…

The Enterprisehas been the trusty airship of Cid Garlond all the way back to 1.0. Recently upgraded and dubbed the Enterprise Excelsior, this seems unlikely to chance anytime soon.

I made the rest up. (Though, Allag did engineer Ragnarok-class starships.)

10) The most **influential** ruling body in Ul’dah is…

Another set of very important asterisks, but one that was overwhelmingly heeded: The Syndicateholds the true power in Ul’dah, having eroded the Sultana’s power for years in a tide that has only begun to turn.

The Order of Nald’thal, most prominent of Ul’dah’s religious sects, and the Immortal Flames, the city-state’s Grand Company are important, but pale in comparison to the other two.

11) The Gridanians reside in the wood with the blessing of…

The Pact of Gelmorra was forged between man and the Elementals, leading to the founding of Gridania.

The Padjal came into being as part of this accord, and the Moogles have since been shy but cordial allies. Though the Gridanians share the faith of the Twelve in their worship of Nophica, the guardians of the wood itself have final say over who lives beneath its boughs.

12) What year is it (canonically speaking) as of Patch 3.45?

This question was mostly included as a joke, as “What year is it?” is one of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to lore discussion. It is the HYDRA of Final Fantasy XIV lore queries; cut off one thread and two more grow in its place. It is both to be expected (being so constantly asked) and kind of surprising (being so easily Googled) that not a single option garnered more than 30% of the responses.

For the greater good, there is a bubble of “stopped” time around Final Fantasy XIV that encompasses the span of about a year, thus allowing the continuity to remain stable for all players. The relic quests and holiday stories may make meta jokes about real-world time on occasion, but there’s a reason that we’ve had three comings of The Rising and all three have referred to the Calamity as five Eorzean years past.

When you begin the game, it is the 5th Year of the Seventh Umbral Era, but after Operation Archon, it is declared (and remains) the 1st Year of the Seventh Astral. Will the bubble always be in place? Perhaps not. But it is, for now.

(And, yes, this was true for the vast majority of Final Fantasy XI, as well.)

13) Hunberct Longhaft is most renowned for his…

Peerless of a swordsman as some may claim him to be, any brush against the Longhaft or those acquainted with him will inevitably lead to tales of his legendary lever. A crucial tool in the defense of Highbridge, the lever be must be regularly oiled and operated, lest Hunberct find himself in one of the rare positions whereby he is unable perform his duties to their fullest potential. According to his team of highly-trained lever-handlers, however, the task brings such satisfaction that the job will likely never want for volunteers.

14) What element is best used to counter the aspect of fire?

The goal here was to go out on a light note with a pretty easy question. I failed you. The correct answer came in third place, with over 40% of respondents going for the “obvious” choice—water. Most recently seen in the scattered books of the Great Gubal Library, Essences & Permutations lays out the elemental relationships.

Fire is extinguished by wind. (Water beats earth, eroding it away.)

At this time, all of our winners have been selected and confirmed. If you were one of the 21 people that got a perfect score but didn’t receive an e-mail, we’re sorry that RNG wasn’t in your favor! For everybody else, we hoped that this made you even more curious and eager to learn about the world of Eorzea! Please feel free to leave us your thoughts on the contest (unless you plan on simply pelting me with popotoes).

]]>http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/27/ffxiv-contest-for-knowledge-answers/feed/1FFXIV Live Letter from the Producer XXXIII – Merchandise!http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/25/ffxiv-live-letter-from-the-producer-xxxiii-merchandise/
http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/25/ffxiv-live-letter-from-the-producer-xxxiii-merchandise/#commentsFri, 25 Nov 2016 15:12:10 +0000http://gamerescape.com/?p=41857Here is a visual guide to the merchandise that was displayed during the Live Letter from the Producer XXXIII! Click on and hold onto your wallets!

Still holding onto that wallet? Good! Here’s the goods that you can find/buy at the next Fan Fest in Tokyo 2016!

Hope you’ve enjoyed going over these images!

]]>http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/25/ffxiv-live-letter-from-the-producer-xxxiii-merchandise/feed/0FFXIV Live Letter XXXIII Outlinehttp://gamerescape.com/2016/11/25/ffxiv-live-letter-xxxiii-outline/
http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/25/ffxiv-live-letter-xxxiii-outline/#commentsFri, 25 Nov 2016 14:23:57 +0000http://gamerescape.com/?p=41813Wow, that was an enormous live letter! For anyone who missed the action or would like a quick English version of what went down, here’s a copy of Marko Turn & Mr. Happy’s collaboration!

]]>http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/25/ffxiv-live-letter-xxxiii-outline/feed/0Review: Senran Kagura Bon Appetit! – Full Coursehttp://gamerescape.com/2016/11/22/review-senran-kagura-bon-appetit-full-course/
http://gamerescape.com/2016/11/22/review-senran-kagura-bon-appetit-full-course/#commentsWed, 23 Nov 2016 01:33:18 +0000http://gamerescape.com/?p=41766[Note: Due to the fanservice-heavy nature of this game, some of the images in this review may be considered NSFW.]

Show the PC Some Love

The Console-to-PC port market has become a burgeoning one over the last decade or so. For the longest time, many developers (a number of them Japanese ones) avoided releasing their games on PC, instead focusing on console titles. However, with gaming-caliber PCs becoming more affordable and accessable, these same developers are starting to take notice of this untapped market.

As such, a massive number of previously console exclusive titles have made their way to PC, and modern titles tend to receive simultaneous release on both PC and console. There do still seem to be some genres that aren’t making the leap though, and one that I’ve noticed is also one of my favorites: rhythm games.

Of course, there’s plenty of rhythm games already available on PC. Looking at some of the more popular ones, though, shows what I think makes the creators of console exclusive rhythm games such as Rock Band so hesitant to port their titles over. Titles such as Stepmania and Osu, alongside others, focus on player-made note charts…and much of the time, these charts are made for songs that the creator doesn’t own, and said charts (along with the songs) are often distributed for free.

Releasing a music-focused title on an open platform like PC could open up the possibility of pirated music being used for it. I’m not here to debate piracy, but I do believe it’s what makes these developers seemingly avoid PC ports of their rhythm games.

That’s not to say everyone is avoiding it. XSeed Games, already well-known for optioning some surprisinging titles for PC ports, have decided to bring over a rhythm game next. It’s part of the Senran Kagura series, though, so things are bound to get…interesting.

Developed by Meteorise and Marvelous Inc., and published in the US by XSeed Games, Senran Kagura Bon Appetit! – Full Course was released on November 10th, 2016. While the game has been available on the Vita, this review focuses on the newly released PC port, currently available on Steam.

Apron Fetish

Bon Appetit takes place in the same series timeline that the previously reviewed Shinovi Versus did. Three all-girls shinobi schools (along with a fourth group of renegades) continue their battle of good versus evil. However, this time, a new method of fighting has emerged: the Super Dish Gourmet Cook-Off.

The master of the Hanzō school of good shinobi has put on this competition in search of the “Super Dish,” a meal unlike any other. The winner will receive a magical scroll that can grant a single wish…any wish. Of course, this leads our cast of characters to duke it out in cooking battles to earn this scroll.

I had mentioned in our Shinovi Versus review that that game would’ve benefitted greatly from sticking with a single tone – humorous or serious – rather than trying to have both at once. Bon Appetit seems to have followed my advice (as I pretend that I’m important and influental), going for a full humorous tone in its plot and presentation. This is a fighting game being translated to a rhythm game about cooking, after all, so it only makes sense.

As such, the plot isn’t deep or compelling, but it is honestly hilarious. So much so that I truely did bust out laughing constantly during story segments, typically at the absurdity of it all, along with the over-the-top sexual humor that is a mainstay of the series.

Each of the 22 available characters has their own small story to play through, with the fun coming from the specific reasons why each girl enters the contest. One enters because she thinks cooking will make her appear cuter, another just kind of stumbles into it and decides “why the hell not.” The plot of the series’ main character is just a 20-minute long string of dick jokes. As long as you’re not looking for anything complex or groundbreaking, the stories presented here are great entertainment.

Unbalanced

As I hope you’ve gleaned from this article so far, Bon Appetit is a rhythm game. Rather surprisingly, we’ve reviewed a rhythm game by Senran Kagura’s developer, Kenichiro Takaki, before. That game would be the Japanese exclusive IA/VT Colorful, and there are a few similarities between that game and the one we’re looking at here today.

The layout of the note charts in this games is fairly typical: two lines across the bottom of the screen, with notes scrolling in from right to left. When the notes hit a target near the left side of the screen, tap the correspoinding button.

The notes given to you will depend on the control scheme you set for the game. If you are playing with a keyboard, the notes will include the arrow keys, along with WASD. Plugging in an Xinput controller (i.e. the XBox 360 controller) will replace the WASD notes with typical ABXY controller buttons. Bon Appetit also takes advantage of Steam’s native Dualshock 4 beta support – plug in a PS4 controller, and the game will use the PlayStation face button symbols, which I found impressive.

I did run into an issue when attempting to use a Steam Controller, though. The game doesn’t recognize the controller as an Xinput device, so note charts default to WASD, and I couldn’t find an option to change this manually. You can, of course, map these keys to the face buttons of the controller, but it adds in an annoying learning curve if you’re used to Xbox or PlayStation face buttons for input prompts.

When it comes to the actual mapping of the songs, I have the same issues here as I did with IA/VT: the note charts can be very awkward. To me, a solid rhythm game creates a logical flow in its controls, avoiding too many “jumps” around a control pad and matching notes being pressed to the music in some form or another. In Bon Appetit, it feels like the basic rhythm of the note chart was created first, and then the actual button prompts were laid randomly on top.

In another similarity with IA/VT, the timing windows for button presses are incredibly lenient, and possibly even more so here. There were a few moments where I hit a note nearly a full half-beat after the prompt, and it still registered and kept my combo rolling.

In terms of the game overall, actual difficulty is all over the place. I did play through on Hard difficulty (the max available), and the difficulty within each character’s storyline varies wildly. Rather than having a song list available, each track is tied to a specific character, so when you battle said character, you play her track. Each story arc puts you up against five characters, two of which appear to be chosen at random.

As such, its fairly typical to start off an arc with a really simple track, then get thrown the hardest song in the game next, followed by something else entirely, etc. There’s no balance, and it doesn’t seem like balance was even attempted.

They Have Lives of Their Own

Much like Shinovi Versus, Bon Appetit is a port of a former Vita exclusive, with the addition of 1080p and 60FPS presentation. Knowing this, the port of this game has some of the same perks as the Shinovi Versus port…as well as some of the same annoyances.

Once again, giving this title a 60FPS port is a perfect idea. Much like the fighting game style of the previous game’s port, rhythm games benefit greatly from a high framerate, and I could not imagine attempting this game at 30FPS back on the Vita. Backgrounds and character animations look great with this HD port as well, especially considering this was originally a handheld game.

The clothing damage cutaways (which, yes, still exist in this title) are much less annoying this time around. Rather than happening in the middle of gameplay, each track has a breaking points built into them where the notechart pauses and lets the cutscene play. The game manages to have its cake and eat it too, keeping gameplay flowing even with the gratuitous T&A scenes.

A couple of animation issues from Shinovi Versus still exist here, though. Clipping remains a problem, especially on characters with long hair or skirts. The series’ signature breast animation still seems incredibly unnatural, as if the girls injected a gallon of water into each of their breasts. I did run across a couple of hilarious glitches where one breast on a character would stay still while the other decided to jump around wildly.

Didn’t Even Try

Music is the make-or-break portion of a rhythm game, and it saddens me to report that the tracklist for Bon Appetit is incredibly underwhelming. There are 22 tracks, one for each of the characters. A few are full vocal tracks, trending heavily toward generic J-Pop. The majority of the others are either bland poppy songs with occasional eastern flair, or remixes of public domain pieces (such as Mendelssohn’s Wedding March).

Not only is the setlist rather bland, but the individual songs are boring to play as well. Each one clocks in at about three-and-a-half minutes, composed in a standard theme and variation style, with little emphasis on the “variation” part. Despite the average runtime of each song, they often feel like they drag on and on.

The game also features voice acting in Japanese, and much like Shinovi Versus, most of the cast turn in great performances. The great ones remain so, and the annoying ones (CANDY AND PANCAKES GIRL IS BACK) persist as well.

All Style and No Substance

Overall, Senran Kagura Bon Appetit!is a game with great presentation and a hilarious plot, but it falls flat on its face in the actual “rhythm game” department. Note charts have no logic or flow, difficulty is all over the place, timing windows are abnormally forgiving, and there appears to be no balance at all. Worst of all, little effort seems to have been put into the track list, the most important part of a rhythm game.

Really, this title seems like it was slapped together to make a quick buck, relying on its overbearing sexuality to sell. Other titles in the series manage to create solid games to compliment the T&A, but Bon Appetit doesn’t even attempt to try.

While I did manage to pull some great entertainment from the inane plot, when the backbone of the game is this shattered, it makes it nearly impossible to recommend. A soundtrack with a bit more effort put into it may have been able to help overcome the other issues. Unfortunately, the package as it is just isn’t a very good game.

Final Fantasy XV was delayed so that they could work some fixes into the game’s disc before production. However, that hasn’t stopped the team from adding even more afterwards as a day one patch. Square Enix released some of the details about what will be in the “Crown Update” download that automatically starts up when people pop in their FFXV discs next week.

Improvements to the camera with new options to better assist and track the action in tight space and to improve visibility during battles

New event scenes and scenes from KINGSGLAIVE: FINAL FANTASY XV™ and the “Omen” trailer have also been added to the game to make the story and timeline of events easier to follow for newcomers

The addition of an ability tree for the “Wait Mode” function which improves the strategic element of this feature

Players can obtain the “Beast Whistle” which can be used to call monsters to battle

A wider variety of recipes and fish with an addition of a gallery for completionist players who enjoy collecting items

Implementation of social media support, allowing the photos Prompto takes along your journey to be uploaded to Facebook and Twitter

This past weekend, copies of Final Fantasy XV were being sold early in some portions of the world. Spoilers have already been appearing online about the games story. If you’re someone who wants to avoid spoilers, now is the time to put #FFXV on mute on your various social media channels.

Because of the early sales and the spoilers coming from those players, FFXV Director Hajime Tabata issued the following statement:

“The November 29th release date is approaching and I sincerely hope everyone enjoys this game with a fresh state of mind. Unfortunately, there has been an unauthorized distribution of the boxed edition of FINAL FANTASY XV in select regions and we have noticed that gameplay footage from people playing these copies has appeared online. Though this type of situation is brought on by various region specific circumstances and may not be something that is completely avoidable, we are very regretful of this situation.

One of the major goals of FINAL FANTASY XV is for everyone to enjoy the story and to discover the surprises together through the simultaneous worldwide release. Due to these recent events, videos with unexpected spoilers could potentially be posted online, so we would like to warn everyone who has been waiting in anticipation for this game.

We will also do everything in our capacity to prevent unauthorized footage from appearing online. We would also like to ask anybody that has obtained an early copy of the game to be respectful to those that are looking forward to the official release and to not spoil the surprises for everyone.

A large and dedicated team have worked extremely hard to make this game and to create a FINAL FANTASY that everyone can enjoy. It would be a huge regret for us if the excitement of the launch was to be spoiled for so many when we are so close to release.

Your understanding and cooperation would be much appreciated so we can celebrate the best possible release together.”